Former Pakistan pacer, Yasir Arafat, has been enlisted as the high-performance coach for the upcoming five-match T20I series against New Zealand, according to ESPNcricinfo.
This development comes as a late decision by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), with Arafat set to replace the current high-performance coach, Simon Helmot, for the New Zealand series.
Helmot, who was initially part of the coaching staff for the ongoing Australia series, is reportedly unavailable due to personal commitments.
The former pacer will directly join the Pakistan T20I squad in New Zealand. Reports indicate that, at present, his assignment is confined to the five-match T20 series.
This move adds to the recent changes in the coaching structure initiated by the PCB, which saw Mohammad Hafeez taking over as the team director and head coach for Pakistan’s tour of Australia, replacing Mickey Arthur and Grant Bradburn. Notably, Arthur and Bradburn, although retained by the PCB, did not travel to Australia and have yet to be assigned new roles.
Pakistan men’s chief selector, Wahab Riaz, had announced a 17-member squad for the five-match T20I series against New Zealand, starting from January 12 in Auckland.
The training camp is scheduled to commence at the National Cricket Academy in Lahore on December 28 and will conclude on January 3rd.
Pakistan squad: Shaheen Afridi (c), Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, Fakhar Zaman, Saim Ayub, Sahibzada Farhan, Haseebullah Khan, Iftikhar Ahmed, Azam Khan, Aamer Jamal, Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Mohammad Nawaz, Abrar Ahmed, Usama Mir, Haris Rauf, Zaman Khan
Pakistan tour of New Zealand:
- January 12: New Zealand vs Pakistan – First T20I in Auckland
- January 14: New Zealand vs Pakistan – Second T20I in Hamilton
- January 17: New Zealand vs Pakistan – Third T20I in Dunedin
- January 19: New Zealand vs Pakistan – Fourth T20I in Christchurch
- January 21: New Zealand vs Pakistan – Fifth T20I in Christchurch
